Let authorities probe Sg Bidor's alleged pollution, says MB

Summary

• The Perak menteri besar says investigations on Sungai Bidor’s alleged pollution should be left to the relevant government agencies.

• Saarani Mohamad claims Perikatan Nasional is unnecessarily politicising the issue to gain political mileage.

• He also says Bersih should lodge a report to the Election Commission if it believes the government has violated election campaign rules.

AYER KUNING POLLS | Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad is leaving it up to state agencies to investigate Perikatan Nasional’s allegations that a pig farm in Kampung Poh contaminated Sungai Bidor.

Noting that he is currently unable to confirm or deny the veracity of the opposition’s claims, Saarani said the state’s religious department is aware of the matter.

The department, he said, would be the one to probe whether the river’s water can be used for Muslims to perform their ablution, as PN earlier asserted that the water is unclean for such activities due to its alleged polluted condition.

“Leave it to the responsible government departments,” he briefly told reporters when met after an event at Sekolah Menengah Sains Tapah today.

He added that he would rather not extensively comment on the matter at the moment, as PN appears to be harping on the issue for political gain amid the Ayer Kuning by-election.

“It wouldn’t be right for me to give a response (to PN’s claims) now because PN went (to the pig farm) to politicise conditions,” he said.

“(PN) is trying to incite hate and anger to bring ill-feelings to the surface, (but) to develop a state, it must be done in a proper way.

“When they want to look for political issues, they will look for faults everywhere until they find something, to the point where they’ll go to areas outside of Ayer Kuning,” Saarani said.

Earlier today, PN politicians brought the media to a pig farm in the Kampung Poh locality in Bidor. The group claimed that waste channelled from the farm was contaminating Sungai Bidor.

While PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad acknowledged that Kampung Poh is on the border of the Ayer Kuning state constituency, he said the matter is of importance to voters as Sungai Bidor is a secondary water source for many of the constituents.

Perak PN Youth chief Hafez Sabri urged authorities, including Saarani, to visit the site for themselves, “instead of sitting in air-conditioned offices”, to properly resolve the issue.

The coalition has since filed a police report on the matter at the Tapah district police headquarters.

PN’s candidate for the by-election, Abd Muhaimin Malek, yesterday pledged to shut down illegal pig farms that fail to comply with licensing conditions if he emerges victorious at the polls this Saturday.

The coalition has jumped on the pig farm issue as a central campaign point in its bid for the Malay-majority state seat, which is under the MIC-held Tapah parliamentary constituency.

Alleged campaigning misdeeds

Meanwhile, Saarani also said Bersih is welcome to lodge a report with the Election Commission if the electoral watchdog believes the government has violated election principles while campaigning for the state seat.

He appeared to dismiss Bersih’s criticism of his presence alongside BN’s Ayer Kuning candidate at an official government event held at the Tapah Sports Complex.

The group claimed that the event constituted a misuse of government resources for campaign purposes.

In response, Saarani said he does not view the matter as a violation, noting that it is a norm for candidates to go wherever there is a crowd.

“Wherever there are people gathered, it’s normal for a by-election candidate to visit the location as he wants to familiarise himself with the people here.

“During a by-election, it’s not easy to meet every single voter,” he added.

Yesterday, Bersih urged the MACC to investigate government figures over alleged misdeeds during the by-election campaign.

The group stressed that any power abuse during elections not only tarnishes democracy but also erodes public trust in the electoral system.

Ayer Kuning voters will head to the polls on April 26 after a two-week campaign period, with PN fielding Muhaimin, who is also the Tapah PN chief, while BN has opted to put forth Tapah Umno secretary Yusri Bakir.

PSM deputy secretary-general Bawani KS makes up the three-cornered race for the state seat, which was declared vacant following the death of its incumbent Umno assemblyperson, Ishsam Shahruddin, on Feb 22.

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